Got A FLOSS Office Suite?

See LibreOffice 5.0.4 is available for downloadYes, most of us need an office suite, but we don’t need a bunch of restrictions on its use designed to enrich the supplier far beyond normal profits of business. That’s a bunch of good reasons to use Free/Libre Open Source Software. If you have that source code you are no one’s slave. You can have confidence that the software is working for you and not against you. You can even tweak it if you want. Just remember to share. The world can and does make its own software. LibreOffice 5 is a great office suite. Give it a try. Many million have and it works for them.

About Robert Pogson

I am a retired teacher in Canada. I taught in the subject areas where I have worked for almost forty years: maths, physics, chemistry and computers. I love hunting, fishing, picking berries and mushrooms, too.

Yes more touch optimized than general Libreoffice. Also drop of a lot of functionality access as a lot of functionality turns out not to be practical to attempt to do with touch.

Android and Webased UI are more following the same path.

I am sorry to say Libreoffice on Android even the beta is more usable on small screens than MS Office for Mobile.

When you have access to a full keyboard and mouse the old toolbar/menu interface is more than good enough. Libreoffice project is not trying to make 1 interface that does everything as Microsoft has attempted with Ribbon. There will be 1 engine doing the rendering but there will be more than 1 interface.

The web and mobile interfaces will be close to the same. Of course less functionality exposed as well.

Like it or not dougman is right DrLoser. Trying to make a single interface for small compact screens using touch and for full size screens with keyboard and mouse in fact results in a interface that screws the user over.

What happens in MS Office people on touch go into places that is not designed for compact screens so then are in interface hell. People with large screens in fact lose a lot more screen space to ribbon than to menu bar.

The huge UI arguement back when Sun still had libreoffice worked that one out. Yes it was decide over 6 years ago that the interface of Libreoffice would become two or possibly three.

Of course attempting to use the Libreoffice general interface designed for keyboard mouse and screen as touch is not going to be that friendly. At this stage a lot of people are not aware that the web and compact/touch UI stuff is being worked on with Libreoffice.

DrLoser many governments are starting to declare Libreoffice good enough. If the issue is only touch I am sorry to say that is very limited on how long that will be a problem.

The reason why interface scaling is 4 layers deep into the menus is simple you are not required to be changing it every single day.

The fact is the user can configure the UI of LO very nicelyâ€¦TOOLS/Options/View/User Interface â€“ scaling

A bizarre definition of “nice,” I think. You appear to be the sort of guy who thinks that the best bit about saunas is when you exit them and a large fat naked guy whips you with birch twigs.

Not only is that particular choice of little or no interest to any normal user — it’s also four levels deep on the menu.

Tell me, Robert. These small, cheap, powerful computers that you’re always on about — and they always end up being either a phone or a micro-pc or a Chromebook (this latter being practically option-free) — which form factor do you advocate?

Because, with GNU/Linux, some of them do the menu thing very badly and are in any case not amenable to touch. And some of them are amenable to touch but god help you if you try to do anything menu-related on a phone screen. And some of them are a glorified browser and nothing else.

It’d be nice if you settled on a single monumental failure to praise, rather than spreading your largesse across all three.

Remember Windows 8? What a stinkin turd that was! It was so BAD, that M$ skipped Windows 9 just to avoid it. See, the point that M$ failed was in pushing a touch interface Metro, onto traditional computers and it pissed everyone off.

So tell us Deaf Guy, how are some features that are just designed for mice and for keyboards, going to be revolutionized by M$ with touch? HINT, its not.

Speaking of LO, there is a very peculiar area in which LO is severely deficient – touch-based UI. With its tiny, pre-2000 era toolbars, LO is hideous to even contemplate on a touch-based, small-screen device.

Now, at the same time, we have:
1. Office Mobile, which costs exactly $0 to use on <10" devices, and which is very, very touch-friendly.
2. Office 2016, which costs like $10 / month, which has a touch-friendly mode (making all UI elements larger and clearly separated) for those who need all the powerful features.

LO is simply doomed. They try to make a product for the desktop of 2000. Now, 15 years later, desktop is being redefined. Someone tell The Document Foundation, pls. 🙂

The only people who need M$ these days are those who collect pay-cheques from M$. The rest of us can be free with a few simple choices.

Yesterday, I had a critical moment in my life. TLW handed me a newish laptop. It was huge and shiny. She said, “Make it work!”. I was fearful it ran That Other OS when I saw M$’s key on the keyboard. Nope. It ran Ubuntu GNU/Linux, a foreign OS to me, but the one my son used at work. Chuckle. Even the recycled PCs around here run GNU/Linux. All it needed was a charged battery. M$ need not apply to give users of IT what they want.

I don’t have a typewriter but I do e-mail and occasionally print a document.

Spreadsheets are nice for processing tabular data in small quantities and making graphs of simple kinds.

Granted, I don’t use an office suite every hour of every day but I do many times per week. It’s particularly useful for designing stuff, making lists, communicating, accounting, and remembering stuff. I use Gnumeric mostly but LibreOffice writer and calc also get used around here. TLW uses mostly LibreOffice a few times every day. It sure beats paper and pencil.

Most Australian city councils use LibreOffice, it is also the default office suite on machines in government libraries. As far as I’m aware, it seems to be standard across the various Australian emergency services as well, so it is good enough for the police, fire services, ambulances, … . It certainly works for me.

kurkosdr wrote, “better than plopping LibreOffice on the head of relatives and have them whine at the phone everytime a docx some coworker, client or B2B vendor sent doesn’t open, or when they do not know why their text is suddenly full of red squiggles, or when their impress presentation magically breaks itself when saving it.

Because the disable-macros thing in MS Office is something I have to do only once. Caprice?”

Have you used LO recently? LO is tight with those problems because a lot of businesses and government want to get away from M$ and use LO.

I suppose kurkosdr is wiser and smarter [SARCASM] when it comes to office suites compared to the government of the uK…“A new deal between the Crown Commercial Service and Collabora Productivity will provide public sector organisations with savings on Open Source office software.”

Yes, sure looks like they think LO is a compatibility-nightmare. [more SARCASM]

So… are you saying that if I choose a Desktop Linux distro and LibreOffice I will never have to apply security patches, ever?

Or are you complaining that Windows and MS Office need security patches when at the same time Desktop Linux and LibreOffice need security patches? Huh?

But I give you a point that the whole deal with macros in Office is as stupid as it gets. You have basically two modes. "Editing disabled" mode where you can't even print or change typo, and "enable all the things" mode, which allows malicious macros to execute and whatelse. How about a "no macros but everything else please" mode? It would not make the need for security patches go away (every app that parses bytes coming from the wildside, aka the internet, in some way or other needs patches), but it would reduce the security headaches. And yes, I know you can disable the macro nonsense for files not coming from your PC, but why, oh dear Zeus why, do I have to do it on every relatives computer, instead of that being default?

Still, better than plopping LibreOffice on the head of relatives and have them whine at the phone everytime a docx some coworker, client or B2B vendor sent doesn't open, or when they do not know why their text is suddenly full of red squiggles, or when their impress presentation magically breaks itself when saving it.

Because the disable-macros thing in MS Office is something I have to do only once. Caprice?

olderman wrote, “I would not be surprised the way you forced your wife of windows software onto FOSS.”

TLW hated that other OS kept quitting on her. GNU/Linux is just forging ahead. She used TOOS from DOS 5 to XP. There were thousands of reboots required. XP, when she first had it, failed daily. She required XP only because the software she used for real estate required it. That’s no longer the case. GNU/Linux runs fine until there is a power-failure. We used to have a UPS for her but it died too.

On a related matter, my pension is finally about to kick in fully. The last piece of the puzzle was a letter written by me on LibreOffice 5. No problem at all. GNU/Linux and LibreOffice works for us.

Obviously, the better per head per annum cost would be, the one that allows me to create documents for less. This is Business 101, why spend $100 when one can do the very same thing and not have to spend the money in the first place. The money saved can be pooled and you could have yourself a wonderful XMAS party, everyone likes parties right?

DrLoser wrote, “Corporate. Corporate are never going to go near a sub-standard offering like Libre in a million years. Corporate will gladly pay $100 per head per annum for the real thing.”

ISTR that SUN Microsystems balked at spending that and more to have that office suite and bought all of StarOffice instead. They broke even immediately by not having to buy a mess of PCs and licences. That begat OpenOffice.org and LibreOffice. So, some corporations really do appreciate FLOSS’ price and flexibility. Some appreciate it so much they are willing to pay programmers to work on LibreOffice. Don’t you think they know what’s in their best interests?

Considering the negativity that arrives when you bought M$ software, you agreed to the EULA so you are already legally bound to participate in an audit, so the BSA can pound you in the sand with fines.

DrLoser wrote, “Being forced to use a sub-standard piece of dreck like Libre really doesnâ€™t work for the customer.”

It works for everyone I’ve offered it. It works for millions of governmental employees and students. The only reason it doesn’t work for some people is because their shackles prevent them reaching the keyboard, or installing their choice of software.

KUKU advocates stealing and implies that the illegality of software theft is OK. Call the BSA.

I admire your total lack of logic here, Dog-Brain.

a) Kurks points out that you can pirate M$ Office for free — actually I think it’s a little more effort if you want a recent version, so let’s stipulate, say, MS Office 2007.
b) You implicitly admit that the only reason to use LibreOffice (or OpenOffice, I suppose) is because it’s free. Not because it’s better. Or even because it’s barely adequate under the circumstances of a controlled experiment.

Now, see, the thing here is that the IT consumer market breaks down into five parts, broadly speaking:
1) Corporate. Corporate are never going to go near a sub-standard offering like Libre in a million years. Corporate will gladly pay $100 per head per annum for the real thing.
2) Government organisations. Still largely in line with Corporate; see (1). I will agree that a notable percentage of government organisations are presently going with LibreOffice. Not, I think, because it is adequate: merely because it looks good on the bottom line. Government departments love to save money in areas that are important, whilst wasting it in other areas of their choosing.
3) Home PC users who are principled enough to pay for the thing. (Me, for example.) I’ve tried the alternatives. They suck. The small annual cost is worth it.
4) Home PC owners who are not principled enough to pay for the thing — your theoretical Kurks, as it were. These people have also tried the alternatives. They suck, and there’s a free alternative out there if you’re prepared to pirate it.
5) Suddenly principled devotees of Free Libre Open Source Software who deplore, I say, deplore the very idea of piracy.

Well, I applaud your stern moral view on this, Dougie, but regrettably you’re pretty much the only convincing member I can think of in group (5).

I’m assuming, of course, that you have never even once used Microsoft Office via WINE?

Powerful developer technologies, like Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) and Object Linking and Embedding (OLE/COM) a thoughtful gift from M$, but in reality it causes more headaches then problems it solves.

Common subject lines include phrases such as payment request, courier notification, resume, sales invoice, or donation confirmation. The text of the email matches the subject line with enough information to get the attachment opened, including official-looking signatures and logos.

1. MS15-124 is one of the usual suspects affecting Internet Explorer on all versions of Windows. It has been marked as Critical and requires a reboot to resolve this vulnerability.

2. MS15-125 is a critical Remote Code Execution vulnerability affecting Microsoft Edge on Windows 10 and requires a reboot to resolve this vulnerability.

3. MS15-126 is a critical Remote Code Execution vulnerability for the VB scripting engine on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 core edition. It may require a reboot depending on how many updates are installed at the same time.

5. MS15-128 is a critical Remote Code Execution vulnerability for all versions of Windows Office 2007, Office 2010, some versions of .NET Framework, Skype for Business 2016, Lync 2010, Lync 2013, Live Meeting 2007 Console, Silverlight 5 and Silverlight 5 Developer Runtime. This patch requires a reboot, and due to the amount of technology this vulnerability can exploit, itâ€™s wise to pay extra attention to this one.

For those who are still using versions of Lync before 2013, pay close attention to MS15-128. It may upgrade Lync to Skype for Business. You want to be careful and avoid spending many hours restoring your Lync services after receiving unexpected upgrades.

6. MS15-129 is a critical Remote Code Execution vulnerability for Silverlight 5 and Silverlight 7 Developer Runtime. It does not require a reboot.

8. MS15-131 is a critical Remote Code Execution vulnerability for Office 2007, Office 2010, Office 2013, Office 2013 RT, Office for Mac 2011, Office 2016 for Mac, Office Compatibility Pack SP3 and Excel Viewer. Although this covers a large amount of Microsoft real estate, it does not require a reboot.

Some of these vulnerabilities are coming under attack from active exploits. Microsoft Office users should make MS15-131 the first patch to consider applying without delay. Active exploits are more likely to be the ones that attackers use to compromise your network.

9. MS15-132 is an important Remote Code Execution vulnerability for all versions of Windows and may require a reboot.

10. MS15-133 is an important Elevation of Privilege vulnerability for all versions of Windows and may require a reboot.

11. MS15-134 is an important Remote Code Execution vulnerability affecting Media Centre on Vista and Windows 7, 8 and 8.1. It may require a reboot.

12. MS15-135 is an important Elevation of Privilege vulnerability for all versions of Windows and requires a reboot.

LO is working for 100s of millions of users. Recently, UK government summarized EU usage of FLOSS and LO.

This just shows that when user find a “solution” that half-covers their needs, they will stick to it because of complacency to find any better. Especially if the better thing cost money of requires a trip to the local pirate shop or torrent site. That’s why you shouldn’t recommend LibreOffice to users when a pirate MS Office is in easy reach.

But the point is, LibreOffice is second rate. When for example you save an Impress document and when you open you find out some slides are all garbed up because you should have made a text-field an invisible half-pixel bigger for this to not happen, or because you aligned some picture an invisible half-pixel wrong, that’s second rate. Or the other problems I mentioned before. For example, the problem of MS Word redlining all the non-English text because it’s using the English dictionary has been fixed 15 years ago. LibreOffice still has it. I mean, can’t they just see how MS Office fixed it and fix it? That’s second rate.

If you are tech-literate and use LibreOffice, you are either driven by ideology than sense or somewhere, somehow, your thought path took and ugly turn.

Do you also love disrupting peoples ability to get their work done? Then again I would not be surprised the way you forced your wife of windows software onto FOSS. Fortunately the world can and does make their own decisions about what to use. And those of us who have not had FOSS shoved down our throat via government fiat because we need our jobs can savor the freedom of being able to pay for the tools that we judge to be right for OUR needs.

Chuckle. LO really offends the trolls. I love that. The joke is on them and their Big Brother. LO is working for 100s of millions of users. That’s no joke. It’s $billions of lost revenue/loot for M$. It’s millions who know freedom.

“The world can and does make its own software. LibreOffice 5 is a great office suite. Give it a try. Many million have and it works for them.”

The problem Libreoffice is too much of a disruption to my workflow to be worth its price ($0). Mr. K has already done a good job describing its limitations.

The world also can and will buy whatever software it wants to get the job done. And even IMHO spending $99@ year for the Office 360 subscription is a small price to pay for what works You even have the side benefit of a suite that works on your tablet as well as your desktop as well being entitled to any upgrades that occur during your subescription.

Also, another thing I hate in LIbreOffice is all the 90s bugs I remember as faint memories are there and present. Everything from not using the correct language in some sentences (aka, attempting to dictionary-check English text using the Greek/French/Herbrew/German dictionary and vise-versa), not being able to put pictures wherever you want them, obscure bugs like reporting that the total pages of your document are 21 but then remembering they are actually 20 because of that edit you did, not being able to copy tables from Writer to Impress etc etc

1) It started out as a knock-off of something well-established and reasonably good for the time (MS Office 97 for Open/LibreOffice, Fiat 124 in the case of LADA)

2) As time passed and the technological gap widened, slowly becoming the “last option”

3) As more time passed, it became a running joke, used only by a few holdouts.

At this point, I don’t know if it matters if they get 100% OOXML support, and by that I mean all the files in their “samples” repository working. No 2015 computer user will subject himself to an app that uses a 1997-era UI layout of 2 toolbars with tiny icons and everything else hidden in dropdown menus leading to dialog screens leading to dialog screens.

Most people just pirate Office and are done with it. But if you want, there is WPS Office. But IMO you should just pirate MS Office and be done with it. It even works with Wine.

My Mission

My observations and opinions about IT are based on 40 years of use in science and technology and lately, in education. I like IT that is fast, cost-effective and reliable. My first use of GNU/Linux in 2001 was so remarkably better than what I had been using, I feel it is important work to share GNU/Linux with the world. Now that I'm retired I still use GNU/Linux on every computer in my home except the smartphones which run Android/Linux.

Lately, I've been giving lots of thought to the world I inherited and which I will leave to my descendants. I'm planting grass, trees, flowers and vegetables in my large lot and I've ordered a Solo EV. I plan to charge my Solo by means of a tracking solar array. Life is good if you have a purpose. I do.